72,017 Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Acquired by CW Advisors LLC

Key Points

• CW Advisors LLC has taken a new stake in MDU Resources Group, purchasing 72,017 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million in the first quarter.
• MDU Resources Group has raised its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.14, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.4%.
• MDU Resources recently missed earnings expectations with an EPS of $0.07, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.13.

CW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 72,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,789,000 after purchasing an additional 408,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,450,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $142,894,000 after purchasing an additional 263,572 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 30.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,124,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,841,000 after purchasing an additional 723,560 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 6.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,329,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,392,000 after purchasing an additional 150,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 7.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,533,000 after acquiring an additional 162,026 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:MDU traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.27. The stock had a trading volume of 893,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,780,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.78. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year high of $30.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.70.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 8.29%. The company had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is presently 49.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Insider Activity

In other MDU Resources Group news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer acquired 5,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.27 per share, for a total transaction of $81,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 339,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,524,445.96. This represents a 1.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Company Profile

MDU Resources Group, Inc engages in the regulated energy delivery, and construction materials and services businesses in the United States. It operates through four segments: Electric, Natural Gas Distribution, Pipeline, and Construction Services. The Electric segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and operates 3,400 miles of transmission lines, 4,800 miles of distribution lines, and 82 transmission and 298 distribution substations.